Monday, May 26, 2025

Fog Then Sun

I got up early to shoot the sunrise this morning after seeing that there was a forecast for 50% sky cover which is about perfect. At 5AM, however, there wasn't a cloud in sight. There was, however, a bit of fog from the canal near where I shoot the sunrises so I stopped there.

Here are some of those images. Note the slow hand held shutter speeds. I love 8 stops of image stabilization. 

RF 24-105mm f/4L at 24mm, f/4, 1/10 sec., ISO 400

RF 24-105mm f/4L at 56mm, f/4, 1/15 sec., ISO 400

RF 24-105mm f/4L at 50mm, f/5.6, 1/40 sec., ISO 800

Later in the morning I took the new 50mm up to Oakwood Cemetery for a walk around, Here are some of those images. 

RF 50mm f/1.4L, f/5.6, 1/100 sec., ISO 100

RF 50mm f/1.4L, f/2.8, 1/8000 sec., ISO 100

RF 50mm f/1.4L, f/11, 1/2500 sec., ISO 100

There is fog in the forecast for tomorrow morning so I may be out looking for some good river scenes.

Sunday, May 25, 2025

5 Cent Project

The new lens has arrived and I had a brief chance to test it out yesterday afternoon. After getting used to just the 35mm lens it was a bit strange using just the 50mm focal length but I know that I will adjust to the longer focal length over time. 

I decided to create a gallery of images from this lens, in both color and black and white, similar to the shortened effort with the 35mm lens and the R8. The gallery is located at https://www.trulandphotography.com/Prime-Galleries/5-Cent-Images. Minolta referred to the focal length of one of their vintage telephoto lenses in centimeters rather than millimeters so I figured why not.

Here are some of the first shots from yesterday afternoon.

RF 50mm f/1.4L, f/2.8, 1/2500 sec., ISO 100

RF 50mm f/1.4L, f/7.1, 1/800 sec., ISO 100

RF 50mm f/1.4L, f/11, 1/100 sec., ISO 100

RF 50mm f/1.4L, f/6.3, 1/500 sec., ISO 100

RF 50mm f/1.4L, f/11, 1/320 sec., ISO 100

RF 50mm f/1.4L, f/8, 1/250 sec., ISO 100


Friday, May 23, 2025

Coming Soon

A "no interest if paid off within 24 months" deal made it impossible for me to pass up the RF 50mm f/1.4L VCM lens at Best Buy. Especially since price increases have yet to kick in with stock already imported into the US. I'm very much looking forward to its arrival via FedEx perhaps tomorrow.

Canon makes three 50mm lenses in the RF mount. I've owned several copies of the very cheap f/1.8 STM version as they are frequently on sale and then I trade them in with almost no loss on the transaction. It's not my favorite lens.

Here is the diagram of the f/1.8 version.

$200 lens

The f/1.2L version is amazing but big, heavy and very, very expensive. I owned the EF version of this lens, which is smaller, lighter and less expensive, which I used with an adapter on my EOS R6. Here is a gallery with photos from the EF version.

Here is the diagram of the RF f/1.2L version.

$2,300 lens

Last October, Canon introduced an f/1.4L version of the lens which is unlike any 50mm lens Canon's made before. It's an L lens so it's weather sealed. It has an aperture ring, although it will only function in video mode on my R6 Mark II. It also has a button on the lens which I will set for depth of field preview. Here is a diagram of the RF f/1.4L version.

$1,400 lens

Here is a photo from The Digital Picture showing all three of these lenses together with the old EF 50mm f/1.4 USM lens.



I dismissed this lens when it first came out because I was using EOS R8 bodies without IBIS and the lens does not have its own image stabilization. But now that I'm using an R6 Mark II body with IBIS I will have up to 7 stops of image stabilization with the lens. With three stops of extra light (8 times as much light) and shallower depth of field options compared to my 24-105mm f/4L lens it will add a lot to my capabilities.

Here are photos of the two lenses I'll now be using, again courtesy of The Digital Picture.



Tuesday, May 20, 2025

Hudson River Parking Lot

New York State Canals were supposed to open for navigation last Friday, May 16th. Rain and high water has delayed the opening of the Eastern portion of the Erie Canal and the Champlain Canal until perhaps this coming weekend. The issue isn't that the water levels are too high at present. The issue is that due to extended high water in recent weeks the canals just aren't ready to open yet. Buoys in the Hudson River are not yet in place, for instance.

Boats can get to Waterford from down the Hudson River as the federal lock at Troy is operating. But Waterford is as far as they can travel until the canals open up. Every year boats line up for the canals to open as Canadians travel home after spending the winter somewhere warmer. Some head up the Champlain Canal through Lake Champlain to Quebec and some travel west on the Erie Canal to Lake Ontario.

Here are some images from this morning at Waterford Harbor.

65mm, f/8, 1/1000 sec., ISO 100

58mm, f/8, 1/500 sec., ISO 100

70mm, f/8, 1/500 sec., ISO 100

24mm, f/8, 1/500 sec., ISO 100

43mm, f/8, 1/500 sec., ISO 400


Tuesday, May 13, 2025

A New/Old Project

I was looking at this morning's detailed hourly NWS forecast last evening and figured there might be a decent sunrise today. It's been a few years since I stopped headed over to lock E5 for sunrise photos and I figured it might be time to start a new series. It's also a really great way to start the day. 

In the past, I was mostly using heavier DSLR bodies and lenses and HDR processing a series of exposures so I always had to use a tripod. Now, with eight stops of image stabilization and single file processing I can hand hold these without a problem. Although the railing helps. 

The new project is located at https://www.trulandphotography.com/Color/Projects/Lock5-Sunrises. Here are some from the first day.

24mm, f/4, 1/250 sec., ISO 800

24mm, f/5.6, 1/125 sec., ISO 400

27mm, f/5.6, 1/90 sec., ISO 400

24mm, f/5.6, 1/180 sec., ISO 400

24mm, f/5.6, 1/45 sec., ISO 200

45mm, f/5.6, 1/180 sec., ISO 400


Sunday, May 11, 2025

As High As It Got

The rain didn't relent for several days but it wasn't always a heavy rain. It finally stopped yesterday morning and the rivers crested in the early afternoon. Here are some shots from the Waterford area about that time. And a couple of scenes from Peebles Island.

I'll once again stop putting the camera body in the captions since I only have the R6 Mark II. I can now also stop listing the lens since the only one I have is the RF 24-105mm f/4L IS USM.

Battery Park, Waterford
32mm, f/11, 1/500 sec., ISO 200

Under the North Bridge
33mm, f/11, 1/500 sec., ISO 200

The North Bridge from Peebles Island
24mm, f/8, 1/1500 sec., ISO 200

Mohawk River, 4th Branch
26mm, f/4, 1/2000 sec., ISO 200

Peebles Island Trail
40mm, f/8, 1/125 sec., ISO 200

Peebles Island Trail
81mm, f/8, 1/750 sec., ISO 400


Wednesday, May 7, 2025

Been Looking Forward...

Ever since I started the B&W Sprouts Project back in late December I've been looking forward to the good Cohoes Falls overlook park opening in May and then for some high water. Only 7 days after the earliest possibility of those two things happening they happened.

I was actually on the way to FedEx to ship out the gear I'm selling to MPB and decided to stop at the falls on the way as the clouds were nice, there was a lot of water and it wasn't raining at the time. I'm glad I did.

R6II, RF 24-105mm f/4L at 50mm, f/11, 1/250 sec., ISO 200

R6II, RF 24-105mm f/4L at 24mm, f/11, 1/125 sec., ISO 200

R6II, RF 24-105mm f/4L at 24mm, f/11, 1/750 sec., ISO 200

R6II, RF 24-105mm f/4L at 105mm, f/8, 1/1000 sec., ISO 200

R6II, RF 24-105mm f/4L at 74mm, f/5.6, 1/1500 sec., ISO 200

R6II, RF 24-105mm f/4L at 67mm, f/11, 1/750 sec., ISO 200


Tuesday, May 6, 2025

Too Good to Refuse

The project with the R8 and 35mm lens did its job in tamping down any temptation to sell them and pick up the RF 50mm f/1.4L lens. I did, however, make the mistake this morning of checking the trade-in value of the combination at MPB. The quote was more than I expected and while I haven't finalized the transaction, I think I might take advantage of the offer without picking up anything in return. 

[UPDATE 5/23/25: I did sell the R8 and lens along with a few accessories. Circumstances, however caused me to also go ahead with the original thinking to pick up an RF 50mm f/1.4L lens. Mostly, it was the offer of no interest if paid off in 24 months. Seriously too good to refuse.]

Like sports teams when a player trade is imminent and they don't want an injury to cause problems, I put the camera and lens aside while I decide. I'll also make the project folder visible only when the link is known as there really isn't enough content for it to remain permanently as it is.

Here are some shots from an art exhibition yesterday and Oakwood Cemetery this morning.

R8, RF 35mm f/1.8, f/2, 1/125 sec., ISO 400

R8, RF 35mm f/1.8, f/2.8, 1/20 sec., ISO 400

R8, RF 35mm f/1.8, f/2.8, 1/15 sec., ISO 800

R6II, RF 24-105mm f/4L at 105mm, f/11, 1/90 sec., ISO 800

R6II, RF 24-105mm f/4L at 61mm, f/5.6, 1/1000 sec., ISO 200

R6II, RF 24-105mm f/4L at 74mm, f/11, 1/60 sec., ISO 200


Friday, May 2, 2025

Waterford Flight of Locks

A sure sign that summer is on the way is the filling of the Waterford Flight of Locks portion of the current canal system. Of the five locks, E2 through E6, all but E3 are accessible to the public and all have nice views of the canal and adjoining land.

Here are some images from a brief stop at lock E5 this afternoon, all with the EOS R8 and RF 35mm f/1.8 IS STM lens.

f/11, 1/350 sec., ISO 100

f/11, 1/250 sec., ISO 100

f/16, 1/350 sec., ISO 100

f/16, 1/180 sec., ISO 100

f/11, 1/750 sec., ISO 200

f/11, 1/500 sec., ISO 200